Fluid packing seal



Aug. 5, 1952 F. E. BONNER ET AL FLUID PACKING SEAL Filed Dec. 1. 1949 INVENTOR HERMAN NACK FRANK E. BONNER ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 5, 1952 2,606,046. FLUID PACKING SEAL Frank- E. Bonner, Dayton. and: Hermani Nack, T-r'oy,0hio-, assi'gnors to. The Commonwealth- Engineering' Company of'Ohio, Dayton,,-.Ohio,. a

corporation of Ohio Application December 1, 1949,se1-ia1no. 130,492

.2'Claims. (01.286-26) This invention relates to the art of packing sealsp More particularly, it relates to sealing means for confining fluid mediums in chambers in which objects move; Still more particularly, it relates to the sealing or plating chambers in which decomposition of vaporous metal compounds frees toxic gases.

" Deposition of thin filmsof protective 'met'al, such-as nickel, cobalt, tungsten, their alloys, and

the l ike,'has been accomplished in the past by enclosing an object to be plated ina chamber,

charging the chamber with adecomposable metal-bearing gas "and heating the object to a decomposition temperature for said gas.

a plating. chamber, the procedure has been to pass, for example, sheet material through a water bath which acts as'a seal for the gas chamber.

Such equipment as. is shown in th Drummond Patent No. 2,332,309 is bulky and suffers from the overcome the disadvantages and limitations of the processes known heretofore.

It is also an object. of'the present invention to provide a. seal operable under pressure conditions either above or below atmospheric pressure.

It is another object of the present invention to;

provide a seal which operates whether the'fiuid medium is-liquid or gas.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a seal which is capable of sealing against fluid leakage about moving irregular shapes or irregular surface configurations on the surface of said shapes.

Other and more specific objects and advantages will become apparent from the followin description:

The seal of this invention comprises a shaped flexible unit or tube, inflated by the introduction of a fluid medium under any desired pressure, the expansion causing the tube to press against objects of any shape.

Where objects have been passed in andout-ofi The shape of the inflatable unit is dependent The type of sealtis such that it lendsi'itself readily to adaptation to such-processes. as eas.

plating, annealing; nitriding. I and the like.

The flexible units .or tubes may be prepared from :nat-ura'l rubber, synthetic rubbers such as polychloroprene; 'butadienestyrerie', and like polymers. i

The invention will be more fully understood by reference to the drawings, illustrating two diff'erentsusesin which: r I

Figure '1 is a perspective view of the chamber and the seal'upon moving plated stee'l slieet;:

Figure 2 is a sectional view of thcolosiire 'aD-- paratus for the gas plating chamberalong the flirre 2'-2.ofFigure l'j-and' Figure 3 is a sectional viewshowing the'ad'apltation ofthe unit oi' this invention taapump t; v Y:

Referring to Figure .1, there isshown' a plati'ng .chamber 'lflhavingan end wall H. End'wall I I is provided. with a horizontal sl-it'lZ through which-the plated sheet metal l3 issues.

iItwill, of course, be understood that-identical meansrnay'be utilized to close-theinletendfas wel1'."'

Adjacent the slit lZ and positionedabove and below the slit, preferably on the outsideo-f end wall H there is secured by suitable means I4, such as welding; a set of 'parallely positioned rigid enclosures or tubes l5'and IS. a

Tubes l5 and It are of sufllcient length-to extend beyond the plate 'issuing-from'th'e chaiiiher It. The ends of the tubing are formedwitll a right angle turn as-at l1.

Tubes 15 and [6 are slotted their entire length as at I8 and IS. The tubes l5 and I6 are'also provided with apertures 20 and 2| adapted to receive the filling stems 22 and 23 of the flexible tubes 24 and 25.

Flexible tubes 24 and 25 are adapted to fit the circular interior of tubes I5 and I6 and are provided with U-shaped projections 26 and 21.

The flexible tubes enclosed in rigid tubes l5 and it extend in the portion I! so as to contact the U-shaped projection of the companion tube. In this way an end sealing engagement of flexible tube contacting flexible tube is secured.

It will be noted that adjustment may be provided in order to compensate for variation in width of sheet. This is accomplished by aflixing rigid tubes 15 and [6 to slides 28a operative in dovetail guides 28b. The adjustment is then effected by movement of the slides in response to set screws 29 threaded in ears 29a, which ears are aflixed to the wall ll of the housing I0.

.Sleeve 3| is also bored .as at 35. the-slot 34 and havingits filling tube extending seals prevent escape of the gas and the appara tus may be worked about without the necessity of utilizing gas masks for safety.

In Figure 3 an adaptation is :shown where liq uid under pressure is prevented from escaping along the pump shaft. The apparatus shown is a plate 30 for the face of a pump casing. The

plate 30 is provided with an annular sleeve'3l which may be either integrally formed therewith U or suitably connected thereto projecting on the external side of the plate. This annular sleeve is adapted to receive the shaft 32 in loose sliding fit in the central axial bore 33.

Sleeve 3| is provided with an annular slot 34. Mounted in through bore 35 is the inflatable sealing tube 3'5 of substantially circular cross section.

The inflated volume of the tube 36.being in excess of the volume of the annular slot34, the tube, when inflated being confined on three sides, isextended in the direction of the fourth side and in contact with the pump shaft.

' It:will be recognized that the range of pressureson the fluid in the pump can be very, great because the pressure within theinflated seal can be increasedv to exceed the pump pressure. Thelimit of pressure is the bursting pressure of the inflated tube-and where confined in an annular slot, as shown, this pressure is very high.

- While the method and apparatus disclosed and described herein illustrate a preferred form of invention, yet it will be understood that modifications can be made without departing from .the spirit-of the invention and that modifications that fall within the scope of the appended claims are intended to be included herein.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for sealing gas chamber openings through which metal strip material is moved which comprises rigid tubular means mounted on thewalls of said chamber adjacent to said .opening; said rigid tubular means being arranged at opposite sides of said opening, a slot in said tubular means; extending lengthwise prising a valve and stemmeans-connected to said inner tubefor introducing gas intothe tube to inflat the same and bring said U-shaped portion of the tube in contact with the metal strip at opposite sides thereof to thereby seal said opening against said strip.

- 2. Apparatus for sealing gas chamber openings through which metal strip material is moved which comprises'rigid tubular means mounted on the walls of said chamber adjacent to said opening, said rigid tubular means being arranged at opposite sides of said opening, a slit in said tubularmeans extending lengthwise thereof and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said chamber opening, an inflatable inner tube disposed in said tubular means, said inner tube having a flexible U-shaped portion disposed in and projecting from said slot upon inflation of said inner tube, said rigid tubular means having an aperture in the side wall thereof, means comprising a valve and stemmeans connected to said inner tube for introducing gas into the tube to inflate the same and bring said U-shaped portion of the tube in contact with the metal strip at opposite sides thereof to thereby seal said opening against said strip, and means comprising a slide mounting for said rigid tubular means whereby the same are slidably adjustable to accommodate metal strip material of diiferent widths. I

V FRANK E. BONNER.

HERMAN NACK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

